1. Tigers — Detroit has the best rotation in the division, and the best lineup. Arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Arguably the best hitter on the planet. Aside from the question mark at closer, the Tigers don’t have very many glaring holes, meaning that how they deal with injuries and expectations will again be the limiting factor for this team.

2. Royals — Yes, yes. I know I picked the Royals for second last year, and it was truthfully not yet “Their Time,” but this year GM Dayton Moore has finally put a starting rotation together — turning over four-fifths of last year’s — with the solid bullpen and lineup filled with young stars. The deal with Tampa Bay, swapping stud prospect Wil Myers and others for starters James Shields and Wade Davis, is the kind that can either get a GM fired — or a contract extension.

3. Indians — An offseason of wheeling and dealing left the Tribe with a new manager and 17 center fielders — give or take. The remodeled outfield will probably have late FA signing Michael Bourn in center, Michael Brantley in left and trade acquisition Drew Stubbs in right, leaving FA adds Nick Swisher and Mark Reynolds in a 1B/DH platoon. All the transactions won’t matter a whit if the starting rotation can’t be better for manager Terry Francona than it has been for the fired Manny Acta.

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4. White Sox — Everybody underestimated the ChiSox a year ago, given what they’d lost, and they went out and held first place for more than 100 days, until finally folding in the final weeks, blowing a three-game lead with 16 to play. If Chicago gets the same kind of seasons it got from guys like Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko, Alex Rios, Chris Sale and Jake Peavy, the White Sox could prove everyone wrong again. Then again, their offseason additions did not offset their losses for the second straight year, leaving you to wonder how they would ... again.

5. Twins — By all appearances, the Twins traded away as many CFs as the Indians added — actually, only two — attempting to use trade chips to rebuild the organization’s lackluster pitching. Outside of the core of Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau, there’s not too much to excite anyone into thinking the Twins might not eclipse the 96 and 99 losses in their last two seasons.

West Division

1. Angels — The Halos have managed to do what their division rivals, the Rangers, have not over the past couple of offseasons: get their man. The Angels landed the biggest FA fishes in the last two years, pulling in Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. The back end of the rotation might be the only sore spot for an otherwise stacked team. That rumbling from the direction of California isn’t an earthquake, it’s the angst of potentially discontented baseball fans, should this season NOT end up in the Angels-Dodgers World Series the hot stove league predictions seem to favor.

2. A’s — When we were here at this time last year, the Athletics were supposed to be building for the future. Looked that way well into the 2012 season, too, until everything began to click. Last year’s group of rookie starters is a year older and wiser, and the A’s are loaded with HR-hitting outfielders and utility infielders. Wouldn’t be surprised if Oakland contends again, but also wouldn’t be surprised if the A’s end up where we thought they might last year.

3. Rangers — It was a bad stretch there for Texas, losing out on every big-name free agent they targeted, including their own in Hamilton, but this is still a talented team, one that was just a couple of bad days at the end of the season from being the best in baseball. The Rangers have stockpiled some of the best minor league talent, but how much guys like Mike Olt or Jurickson Profar help in the short term is questionable. Enough to offset the losses of Hamilton, Mike Napoli and Mike Young? Maybe. Enough to win the West? Could be. A World Series? Probably not.

4. Mariners — The M’s tried to address their woeful offense, trading for spare parts from the Angels (Kendrys Morales) and Nationals (Michael Morse), and they’ve got a ton of prospects (Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, Mike Zunino) on the door step, but they’re still a long way away from contending in this particular division.

5. Astros — Welcome to the American League, Astros. Please wear “Hello, my name is ...” tags on the front of your jerseys. If you think that Miami’s Mike Redmond, the Cubs’ Dale Sveum and the Rockies Walt Weiss have it rough, at least they have SOME talent. First-year Houston manager Bo Porter does not. While new GM Jeff Luhnow doesn’t think the Astros will challenge the Mets’ modern-day record for losses (120), they’re far closer to that than they are to contention.

East Division

1. Blue Jays —Which team ‘won the offseason’ more, the Dodgers or Blue Jays? Tough call. Toronto got better in bulk, swinging two blockbuster trades, getting Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle from the Marlins, and NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey from the Mets. They gave up a couple of top prospects and a couple of headaches to get quantum leaps better. They also added last year’s first-half MVP, Melky Cabrera, fresh off his PED suspension, adding six new starters to a lineup that already had MVP candidate Jose Bautista.

2. Rays — Evan Longoria is healthy, and locked up long-term, providing the anchor to what’s always an offensively-challenged lineup, but — as always — the key to the Rays is on the mound. Tampa Bay may have the best pitcher and best closer in the game — last year’s stats argue they do in David Price and Fernando Rodney — but they’ll need some of that vaunted young pitching to come through to replace the traded James Shields and Wade Davis.

3. Orioles — Yes, the Orioles are tired of hearing that they’ll regress after a season that depended so much on extra-inning and one-run wins, but you can’t stop people from exercising logic. Sure, an offense anchored by franchise cornerstones Adam Jones, Matt Wieters and Manny Machado had a lot to do with it. So did a lights-out bullpen. But the starting pitching still leaves a lot to be desired, even if uber-prospect Dylan Bundy eventually joins the rotation.

4. Yankees — When the season opens, the Yankees could potentially have nearly $90 million worth of players on the disabled list. No one doubts the resumes of the players assembled by GM Brian Cashman — they merely doubt whether there’s enough duct tape and bungee cords in the world to keep the aging cast cobbled together. If healthy, of course NY can contend. But that’s a big, huge, giant ‘IF.’

5. Red Sox — They’re still cleaning house in Boston, two seasons after the September “beer-and-fried-chicken” collapse, adding as many good guys as they could. They traded for Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan, and signed Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Ryan Dempster, Stephen Drew and Jonny Gomes. Good dudes, all. Will that put them in contention? Who knows. As has been written all offseason long, any AL East team could win it — or finish last.

MVP — Jose Bautista, Toronto: Surrounding this guy with plenty of talent takes away some of the “good player, bad team” counterarguments, and also provides him protection like he’s never seen before. Could have a monster year.

Cy Young — Justin Verlander, Detroit: While the last three winners (Tampa Bay’s David Price, Detroit’s Verlander and Seattle’s Felix Hernandez) are all among the favorites to win it again, Verlander has been the closest thing to the most dominant pitcher in baseball over the past two seasons. Voted the No. 2 player in all of baseball by ESPN’s Baseball Tonight — behind teammate Miguel Cabrera — and fresh off a new contract extension, Verlander will make it three, and capture his second Cy Young.

Rookie of the Year — Wil Myers, Tampa Bay: Granted, the Rays will start the uber-prospect in the minors, so they don’t start his arbitration clock, but you know that it’ll be tempting for the always offensively-challenged Rays to bring up the best hitter in the minors, who hit .314 in the Royals’ system last year.

Comeback Player of the Year — Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay: Despite just 74 games played last year, the Rays signed their cornerstone 3B to a contract extension, locking him up through 2022. Last year was the first of his five big-league seasons when he wasn’t a factor in the MVP race, but expect him to be back to his 25-homer, 100-RBI self. Other good bets: Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston (again); Victor Martinez, Detroit; Mariano Rivera, New York.

AL Wild Cards: Rays, A’s

ALCS matchup: Angels vs. Tigers (Tigers in 7)

NATIONAL LEAGUE

East Division

1. Nationals — The chic pick for a few last year (*ahem, pats own back*) is the no-brainer pick for almost everyone this year, especially since the Nats have done nothing but get better. They’ll have Stephen Strasburg for a full year, and ponied up the money for closer Rafael Soriano and starter Dan Haren, and traded for CF Denard Span, only adding to a lineup, rotation and bullpen that were already World Series-worthy.

2. Braves — There is not a more exciting outfield in baseball, after Atlanta signed B.J. Upton from Tampa Bay, then added his brother, Justin, in a trade with Arizona, putting them next to young star Jason Heyward. The rotation has a good mix of young star power and veteran presence, and the Braves might have the best closer in baseball in Craig Kimbrel.

3. Phillies — Philadelphia is still home to some of the biggest names in baseball — Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Jonathan Papelbon — but that may not be enough in a stacked division. It appears Philly’s window is closing rapidly, but the offseason did nothing to inspire confidence in the franchise’s ability to carry out a “win now” philosophy.

4. Mets — Everything written about Atlanta’s star-studded outfield will NOT be written about New York’s. The Mets may end up with one of the most nondescript lineups around him, but they still have to feel the offseason was a success after locking up “Captain America” David Wright long-term. Add in a few prospects from the R.A. Dickey trade, and there’s at least a future to look forward to for Mets fans.

5. Marlins — The Marlins won the 2012 offseason, then promptly flopped, and divested themselves of nearly everything of value aside from Giancarlo Stanton and the fountain in left-center field at Marlins Park. Put it this way: The top three spots in the Marlins order could come down to either 35-year-old Juan Pierre or former Tigers prospect Gorkys Hernandez leading off, ahead of 37-year-old Placido Polanco, who could also hit cleanup. Good luck with that new managerial gig, Mike Redmond.

Central Division

1. Reds — The great Aroldis Chapman ‘Will-he-start or Will-he-close?’ drama is over. The lefty fireballer will stay at the back end, giving the Reds a very good bullpen to go with a pretty good rotation. They added Shin-Soo Choo for lefty power, but have no clear-cut center fielder (Billy Hamilton, anyone?). That’s a small problem, though, considering the rest of the team — anchored by one of the best young infields in baseball — is World Series-caliber.

2. Cardinals — No Chris Carpenter, no Kyle Lohse? No problem, not for one of the top organizations in baseball, a group that just reloads from its stacked farm system, no matter who they lose. (Even if it’s Tony La Russa or Albert Pujols). There was every reason to believe that the Tigers might be headed for a 2006 World Series rematch with the Cards, and there’s no reason to think it might not happen this fall.

3. Pirates — This has to be the year the Pirates finally finish over .500, right? They’ve flirted with breaking their 20-year streak of sub-.500 finishes each of the last two seasons, only to fold at the end. If former Yankee catcher Russell Martin can provide enough pop to support Andrew McCutchen in the lineup, and young stars like Starling Marte and Gerrit Cole can live up to their billing, this could be the year. Just don’t bet the farm on it.

4. Brewers — The Brew Crew almost made it back to the playoffs after it looked like they’d waved the white flag by trading Zack Greinke. The offseason was much more quiet, meaning the rotation looked startlingly average without Greinke, before the Brewers signed FA Kyle Lohse. Even so, it’s hard to see how Milwaukee breaks into what should be a solid top 3 teams in this division.

5. Cubs — There are no Astros around anymore to keep the Cubbies out of the basement of the always-competitive NL Central. Chicago lost more than 100 games for the first time in almost 50 years, and it appears this will be a long building process for GM Jed Hoyer and president Theo Epstein, even if there are building blocks like Starlin Castro, Darwin Barney and Anthony Rizzo.

West Division

1. Giants — You can’t argue against two World Series championships in three years. You can’t argue against a team built around a rock-solid starting rotation, and MVP Buster Posey. The Giants kept the band together, re-signing OFs Hunter Pence and Angel Pagan, 2B Marco Scutaro and closer Sergio Romo. When your big offseason addition is Andres Torres to platoon in LF, you know things are going well.

2. Dodgers — Sure, the Dodgers spent enough dough to be everyone’s odds-on favorites, and they should be huge factors. Adding FA starters Zack Greinke and Korean Hyun-Jin Ryu behind Clayton Kershaw in the offseason, after taking on seemingly half of Boston’s payroll at last year’s trade deadline to get the Adrian Gonzalez-Carl Crawford package. Still, the monumental expectations seem like a lot for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in four seasons.

3. Diamondbacks — With all the comings in a very busy offseason, there seemed to be one constant in the D’backs’ outfield: Adam Eaton, one of the grinders perfect to play for Kirk Gibson, was a lock to start the season as a Rookie of the Year candidate. That was before he was shelved for two months by a sprained elbow. Still, the team has been remade in Gibby’s image, trading glitz for grit. Whether or not that — along with a good rotation and bullpen — will get Arizona past either SF or LA in the star-powered NL West remains to be seen.

4. Padres — The Padres didn’t make a whole lot of changes to a roster that was among the youngest in baseball a year ago, continuing their long rebuild. Seems like Gold Glover and Silver Slugging 3B Chase Headley (who’ll start the season on the DL) is constantly in trade rumors, but if the Padres hold onto him, they have a pretty decent block to build around.

5. Rockies — Do the names Jhoulys Chacin, Juan Nicasio, Jorge De La Rosa, Jeff Francis , Tyler Chatwood or Drew Pomeranz ring a bell? Nope? Those will be the guys that first-year manager Walt Weiss will be depending upon to fix last year’s ghastly 5.81 starter ERA for the Rockies. How those guys do matters as much or more than how guys like Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez do with the bat.

MVP — Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh: The 26-year-old just keeps getting better, even if the Pirates seemingly don’t. His candidacy — as it was last year — likely will be tied to the fortunes of his team, meaning if the Pirates slide in the second half again, guys like LA’s Matt Kemp and SF’s Buster Posey are more likely candidates.

Cy Young — Stephen Strasburg, Washington: Nobody will be asking him questions about when he’s going to get shut down this year — the only thing getting shut down will be opposing offenses.

Rookie of the Year — Oscar Taveras, St. Louis: Seems like it would be one of the Cardinals’ sure-fire pitching prospects here, like Shelby Miller, especially since Miller will start out as the Cards’ No. 5 starter. But Taveras is one of the most talented hitters in the minors, and he’ll be a regular in St. Louis sooner or later.

Comeback Player of the Year — Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado: Before being limited to 47 games by of a groin injury that required surgery in 2012, Tulo had finished in the top 5 in NL MVP voting for three straight years, winning Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards in 2010 and ’11. Other good bets: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia; Carl Crawford, Los Angeles